Vogel Will Remain Indiana Pacers’ Coach After First Playoffs in Five Years

By Eben Novy-Williams -
Jul 6, 2011

Frank Vogel will remain coach of the
Indiana Pacers after leading the team to its first National
Basketball Association playoff berth in five years in an interim
role last season.

Vogel, 38, impressed the team with his work last year and
his goals for the future, Pacers President Larry Bird said today
in a press conference from Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Vogel led the team to a 20-18 record after taking over for Jim O’Brien, who was fired on Jan. 30.

“It was a huge step last year, but we’re building
something bigger here,” Vogel said. “This is the new Pacers.
We shoot for the moon, we dream big, and then we work our tails
off to reach those dreams.”

The Pacers qualified for the playoff in all but one year
from 1989 to 2006, and have played in just one playoff series in
the five seasons since, compiling a 176-234 regular-season
record in that span. The team lost in the first round of this
year’s Eastern Conference playoffs to the top-seeded Chicago
Bulls.

Vogel was a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington
Wizards before joining the Pacers in 2007 as an assistant to
O’Brien.